Stray overpopulation is due to ignorance, says animal lover
dubai — Samah El Manzalawy’s love for animals goes way beyond just the family pet. The Dubai resident has helped feed and rescue more than 500 animals from the streets of Dubai. And she has even managed to re-home more than 30 cats abroad in the last two years.
Born and raised in the UAE, her need to help animals began after witnessing her mum feeding stray cats as a child.
“I would say I have looked after more than 200 strays (feeding them) and more than 300 cats that have been rescued, treated, and ultimately re-homed. At times I would have more than 12 foster cats with me,” she told Khaleej Times.
But it’s getting harder to manage because the number of abandoned animals is on the rise here, she said.“One thing which is adding to the problem is people domesticating stray cats rather than using the Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) technique and feeding them every couple of days.”
The TNR technique is the humane approach to addressing community cat populations. It works by trapping the cat, taking them to a veterinarian to be spayed or neutered, vaccinated, and eartipped (the universal sign that a cat has been neutered and vaccinated), and then returned to their outdoor home.
Referring to the case of Lucy, the dog whose tail was hacked off recently, El Manzalawy said it was so tough to read, but unfortunately it happens all too often here.
“I rescued a senior dog about four years ago who had his ears and tail cropped and he was visually impaired. He was dumped by the owner because he was no longer wanted in the house. Other cases would be popped eyes, broken bones, severely malnourished, the list goes on.”
And it’s the owners that are to blame. “They find it a hassle to go through the process of treating the animal or they simply don’t want to pay the vet bills so they dump them.” ‘I confront owners’ But El Manzalawy said she has no fear in confronting these people either. “I’ve confronted many owners before and the reasons for their actions are usually not genuine and they don’t really hold any grounds. Sadly, since people know I help animals they think they have the right to dump their pets on my doorstep.”
And when it comes to excuses, she’s heard them all; from long working hours, to allergies, or kids simply not wanting the pet anymore.
“The main contributor to this problem is people not spaying/ neutering the pets and more importantly, not assessing the situation of getting a pet in the first place. They need to understand that it is a 15 years or more commitment.”
But sadly, she said, people think they have the right to throw away an animal at any time.
By officially assigning a pet to the owner, El Manzalawy said that would make people think twice before owning an animal. And it’s the government that needs to lead this change. “A person owning an animal should be accountable and liable for him/ her as long as he/she lives. Education programmes should be put in place in schools and in any location where a pet could be obtained from.”
But most of all, she said the city’s residents should support the idea of adoption over buying pets, because that in turn will help the current overflowing of the cats and dogs population.